A lawyer representing the Hempstalk Festival said Portland's recent denial of a 2015 permit is a civil rights issue and that the city had "no right" to require organizers to monitor marijuana use.

Ann Witte, a Portland attorney, filed paperwork with the Multnomah County Circuit Court last week asking the court to review the Parks Bureau's decision to deny Hempstalk a permit.

Witte wants the court to interrupt the appeals process, which otherwise would lead to a Portland City Council hearing for the festival and founder Paul Stanford for a second consecutive year.

"The permit was denied in whole or part because of speeches made at this free speech event," the complaint reads, "where the city dictated what could and could not be said at the free speech forum."

In denying the permit, parks officials cited marijuana use, with organizers' complicity, at this year's Hempstalk in late September at Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

Witte said the Parks Bureau is overstepping its authority by requiring Stanford to police marijuana use at Hempstalk. She also said the city is unfairly targeting Stanford; other large waterfront events also draw marijuana use.

"I don't think they have any right," Witte said of the city. "When our DA has said 'This is not a public safety issue; I'm not going to do anything about it.' The police have said they're not going to do anything about it. For them to say, 'Paul, you've got to do something about this.'"